Writing Tips For Type A Personalities
While experts say that we should think of Type A as a spectrum of behaviors and traits rather than a label, having a Type A personality may give you the tendency to be:
- Time urgent and impatient
- Competitive and driven
- Focused on control
- Conscientious and ambitious
- Intolerant of incompetence
You may also have a to-do list the length of your arm at all times, and abhor wasting time.
And while the Type A definition is somewhat out-dated and simplistic in some ways, it's important to recognize that traits like these may influence your work in a number of ways... especially when it comes to writing!
Why?
Well, I have observed during my work as a writer—as well as in myself as a Type A—that the following tends to happen:
- Your to-do list always has at least 5 items on it that are more urgent
- It's easy to over-research a topic and then get lost in all the information you've uncovered
- Scope creep soon sets in, and you end up writing too much
- Editing is a nightmare because everything you've written feels important (and it is)
- You'd prefer to feel like you'd get an A+ for this project, and that's time-consuming!
- Urgent tasks (people) can interrupt the writing process, delaying completion
Luckily, solutions to all these issues are available to you.
Tip 1: Prioritize Content—It May Be More Urgent Than You Think It Is
Large companies are putting content high on their to-do lists.
Forty-two percent of Fortune 500 companies were using blogs for thought leadership, product promotion and engagement in 2017, and 62% of those companies had either blog post or Newsroom/Press Release posts similar to blogs on their websites.
A whopping 98% of companies on the F500 were using LinkedIn in 2017. Eighty-eight percent were using Twitter, 85% were using Facebook, and 75% were using YouTube to further create, publish and promote their content.
Other important stats you should know about? Here are the top six:
- 71% of bloggers who maintain blogs for a business report that they have increased their visibility within their industries as a result of their blogs.
- The average company that blogs generates 55% more website visitors, 97% more inbound links, and 434% more indexed pages.
- Inbound marketing, of which blogging is a crucial part, costs 62% less per lead than outbound marketing.
- B2C companies that blog generate 88% more leads per month than those that do not.
- Once you write 52 or more blog posts, blog traffic generation increases by up to 77%.
- Small businesses that blog get 126% more lead growth than small businesses that do not blog.
This is just for blogs... Case studies, placed articles, press releases, white papers, e-books, newsletters and other content can have just as much, if not more, impact.
Tip 2: Realize That The Average American Reads At A 7th or 8th Grade Level
This is one of the big challenges of writing for any online audience: making things simple and easy to consume. But it can be a particular results-eating, time suck for Type As, who often have a high level of education and a lot of experience writing for an academic audience.
And while your audience may be pretty well educated and have specialized knowledge in your field, lowering the reading level will make it easier for them to learn from you.
Yes: it isn't easy to take complex concepts and translate them into a form that anyone can understand—but it's essential if you want to make your content accessible to a wider audience, and therefore more generally effective.
This tip can actually make you more productive when writing content for any audience, too. Start by picturing your ideal client when you begin writing. How can you make your piece as accessible as possible for them? This will focus your attention, shape how you communicate, and allow you to express yourself in a more conversational way, which is both easier and quicker.
Tip 1: Limit Research Time
Like to learn? Me, too!
But as a Type A, restricting your research time is a great idea.
Thirty minutes should be just the right amount of time for a blog post research session, especially since a lot of the pearls of knowledge that will go into your post will come from your own knowledge (right?). So, you'll just need some scientific studies or other resources to back up those points. Set a timer!
Tip 2: Teasing Is Necessary
It's extremely easy to overdeliver when you're a Type A. But what about harnessing the power of the tease when you write your content to save time and enhance productivity?
Marketers are the experts in giving you just enough to pique your interest, and they leave you wanting more.
Doing this can be a wonderful way for Type A personalities to reel in the temptation to overdeliver and reap the business benefits at the same time. Write to tease within all of your free content.
Tip 1: Writing Time Is Special
Writing is special: it deserves to be given a quiet space when distractions are minimal. That's why it can be so hard to slip some writing into your normal workday or between other urgent tasks.
Could early morning work for you? Or is there another time of day when you could get some good writing work done? Create a time block that will allow you to get your writing done with zero distractions.
Tip 1: Leave The Editing For Someone Else
While I was chatting to a Type A client of mine recently, she told me that her most effective strategy for optimizing content creation was to let someone else take the reins.
For you, this method might take a variety of forms: you could either get a writer to work on your outline, have them interview you, etc., or let them edit your work when it's 80-90% done.
A good writer will learn how you communicate, and the style of writing you'd like to put out into the world, and then do all or most of the work for you.
A good editor can whip any draft into shape, re-organizing and cutting out sections where necessary... Leaving the piece ready to publish.
Both methods can save you time and energy, and allow you to focus on the tasks and activities that let you achieve your goals.
If you'd like to work with a professional writer or editor who specializes in functional and integrative health... or I can help in any other way, please let me know by sending an email to [email protected].
Happy writing!